Apparatus and Method for Transport of Balancing Weights

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and a method for transporting and positioning of balancing weights connected together to form a chain of balancing weights is disclosed. A drive means comprises at least a transport wheel and/or a transport belt. The drive means has at least one cam to interface with a gap between two adjacent balancing weights of the chain of balancing weights. Furthermore a cutter may be provided for cutting of balancing weights from the chain.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/493,812, filed Sep. 23, 2014, which is a continuation of pendingInternational Application No. PCT/EP2013/055037 filed on Mar. 12, 2013,which designates the United States and claims priority from EuropeanApplication No. 12160991.1 filed on Mar. 23, 2012 and EuropeanApplication No. 12176444.3 filed on Jul. 13, 2012, all of which areincorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to methods and devices for handling andtransporting weights used in vehicle balancing applications, inparticular for dispensing weights used in balancing automobile or othervehicle wheels.

2. Description of Relevant Art

In automotive wheel balancing, individual wheel balancing weights areapplied to specific positions of a rim. Basically, two types ofbalancing weight are used. The first kind is a balancing weight which isattached by a clamp, as disclosed in the European patent EP 1 613 876B1, while the second kind is fixed by means of a self-adhesive tape, asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,421 B1.

Both kinds of balancing weights are available in a plurality of sizes,resulting in different weights. When balancing a vehicle wheel, thecorrect size of balancing weight is selected and attached to the rim.Most balancing weights are supplied as bulk material in boxes, fromwhich the required number of weights is manually taken.

This allows for a simple, comparatively cheap supply of balancingweights. The drawback is that the person who is taking the weights fromthe box may take a wrong weight, and therefore a further step ofbalancing is required. Furthermore, the process of taking the weightscan hardly be automated. Therefore, other solutions as disclosed in WO2008/103651 A1, using a continuous polymer tape, have been developed.This has the drawback that a solid balancing weight is significantlymore robust and reliable than these continuous tapes.

DE 75 14 258 discloses a roller press for manufacturing balancingweights.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments are based on the object of providing an apparatus and amethod for automated transport of vehicle balancing weights. Anotherobject is to provide an apparatus and a method for automated trimming ofvehicle balancing weights. A further object is to provide balancingweights for automated transport and for automated trimming.

A first embodiment relates to balancing weights for automated transport.Such balancing weights preferably are attached to a transport tape whichmay preferably be an adhesive tape for attaching the balancing weightsto a rim. In a first embodiment, the balancing weights are individualweights at a distance from each other to allow for bending of the tapeat at least one axis, preferably at two axes under a right angle. In afurther embodiment there may be any kind of balancing weights known fromthe art attached to a tape or belt.

It is further preferred, if the balancing weights have slanted sides,which further simplifies handling and bending of the balancing weights.

In a further embodiment, the balancing weights are connected by abridge, preferably from the same material as the balancing weights. Suchbalancing weights may also be supported by a tape which also may serveas an adhesive tape. Generally, a tape support of balancing weightsconnected by a bridge is not necessary. In a further embodiment thebridge may comprise a material, preferably a material which is used forcovering the surface of the balancing weights. This may be any polymerlike epoxy.

Generally, herein the term “chain of balancing weights” is used for theembodiments described above and for all other embodiments, where aplurality of balancing weights are connected with each other like achain.

A further embodiment relates to transporting of the chain of balancingweights which are connected to each other. For transport of thebalancing weights, a drive means, preferably a transport wheel ortransport belt interacting with a surface of the balancing weightsand/or a tape may be used. The transport wheel and/or transport belt mayhave a soft and/or flexible surface, preferably softer than thebalancing weights. It further may have at least one cam fitting into aspace between two adjacent balancing weights. Generally, the at leastone cam may synchronize with any other structure of the chain ofbalancing weights, like holes or parts of the balancing weights or of atape. Due to the cams, there is no slip between the transport wheeland/or transport belt and the balancing weights. This allows forprecision positioning the balancing weights. Furthermore, precisionmeasurement of the length of balancing weights may be done. Therefore, alarge number of balancing weights may be counted without error. Forcounting and/or measuring, a cam sensor, sensing the cams of thetransport wheel and/or transport belt may be provided. It may count thecams of the transport wheel and/or transport belt passing by. Thissensor may be an optical or magnetic sensor. There may further be asensor for counting the gaps between adjacent balancing weights. Thismay also be a magnetic or optical sensor, or any other sensor known inthe art. The transport wheel is different from a roller press. While aroller press generates pressure under a right angle to the transportdirection on the surface of the balancing weights, the drive means orthe wheel preferably generates no pressure on the surface. Instead itpushes the balancing weights forward, parallel to the transportdirection. Furthermore, the balancing weights are not deformed or shapedby the drive means. Preferably, the balancing weights enter the drivemeans at a first side and leave the drive means unmodified at a secondside.

In a further embodiment, a pair of drive means like transport wheelsand/or transport belts may be provided for contacting opposing sides ofthe balancing weights, and therefore generating enough friction to movethe balancing weights. These transport wheels and/or transport belts mayapply force to any opposing sides, like top and bottom or right and leftside of the balancing weights.

It is further preferred, if the balancing weights are supported by aguide keeping the balancing weights within a predetermined track.

A further embodiment relates to means for transporting of the balancingweights over larger distances. Here, pulling force to the balancingweights may not exceed the maximum force capability of the tape and/orof the bridges between the balancing weights. If this maximum force isexceeded, the tape and/or the bridges would break, and the transportwould be interrupted. Therefore the transport requires guides providinglow friction and means for pulling the tape in a way to preventexcessive force.

For supporting the balancing weights, a simple support plate or rail maybe provided. This may be coated with a low-friction coating like PTFE(Polytetrafluoroethylene). A slide rail may also have a U-shape, whichmay bear the balancing weights horizontally or vertically.

A further embodiment uses magnetic bearing or magnetic suspension of thebalancing weights. This is preferably applicable to iron balancingweights. Here, the magnetic force of the magnet, like a permanent magnetor a magnet coil, may be guided by at least one yoke towards thebalancing weights. Furthermore, it is preferred to have a spacer betweenthe balancing weights and the yoke to control magnetic flux andtherefore prevent the balancing weights from sticking to the yokes. Sucha magnetic suspension would allow merely frictionless transport of thebalancing weights.

For transporting balancing weights over large distances, it ispreferred, if a plurality of transport wheels and/or belts are used tolower the force applied on the balancing weights. Preferably, thesetransport wheels and/or belts are driven synchronously. If there is nosynchronous transport, there may be excessive force to the balancingweights, causing the tape and/or the bridges to break, if a first wheelis slower than the following wheel. For the case that a first wheel isfaster than a following wheel, an excess length of the chain ofbalancing weights would build up. A necessary synchronization of drivingwheels can hardly be done, when there are only friction-driving wheels.An improvement may be achieved by rotating a first wheel with a slightlylower speed than the following wheel, therefore causing some slip whichalso causes wear of the wheels and may damage the surface of balancingweights. By using inventive transport wheels and/or belts having cams, asynchronization is very simple, as there is no slip between wheels andbalancing weights, and therefore a very precise spatial relationship maybe maintained. Synchronization of a plurality of transport views and/orbelts may be made by a simply mechanical gear or by electronic drivemeans.

In a further embodiment, a combination of two transport wheels and/orbelts may be used to compensate for differences in transport speedand/or length. At least one of the transport wheels has transport camsto synchronize the movement of the balancing weights. Between the twotransport wheels, there may be an excess length of balancing weights,which may vary and act as a buffer.

A further embodiment comprises an apparatus for delivering a specifiedmass of balancing weight. Alternatively, a specified length or size ofbalancing weight may be delivered. The mass or length or size ofbalancing weight to be delivered may be controlled by a controller of awheel balancing machine. The apparatus comprises at least one means forprecision positioning of balancing weights as disclosed herein. Such ameans preferably is a transport wheel and/or a transport belt havingcams to interact with the gaps between adjacent balancing weights. In afurther embodiment, the at least one transport wheel or transport beltmay have a structure on its surface which is corresponding to astructure of the balancing weights. Such a structure may be a structureof lines, a grid, holes, or even an engraved image.

Furthermore, the apparatus comprises at least one means for cutting offpieces from the balancing weights. Preferably, it cuts the tape betweenindividual balancing weights. It may also cut balancing weights atbridges between balancing weights. In a further embodiment, it may cutbalancing weights anywhere, thus releasing pieces of balancing weights.It is preferred, if the balancing weights are cut under a right angle totheir direction of transport.

Preferably, there is a control unit which measures the length oftransported balancing weights and controls the cutting deviceaccordingly. The transported balancing weights may for example bemeasured by counting revolutions of the transport wheel and/or transporttape, counting the number of cams, measuring the length of balancingweights passed, or by counting gaps or bridges between the balancingweights.

A further embodiment relates to a method for at least one oftransporting, delivering, driving and cutting of balancing weights asdescribed above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the invention will be described by way of example,without limitation of the general inventive concept, on examples ofembodiment and with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1a-d show chains of balancing weights.

FIG. 2 shows a transport wheel for transporting balancing weights.

FIG. 3 shows a transport belt for transporting balancing weights.

FIG. 4 shows a dual wheel drive or balancing weights.

FIG. 5 shows a further dual wheel drive.

FIG. 6 shows another dual wheel drive.

FIG. 7 shows a vertical slide rail.

FIG. 8 shows a horizontal slide rail.

FIG. 9 shows a magnetic suspension of balancing weights.

FIG. 10 shows an assembly with two wheels for equalizing flow ofbalancing weights.

FIG. 11 shows a precision balancing weight delivery system.

FIG. 12 shows a wheel with a belt of balancing weights.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that the drawings and detaileddescription thereto are not intended to limit the invention to theparticular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within thespirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIGS. 1a -d, chains of balancing weights are shown. In FIG. 1 a, aplurality of individual balancing weights 10 having slanted sides 11, 12are arranged on a tape 15. This tape may act as an adhesive tape forfixing the balancing weights to a rim. Furthermore, this tape may have aliner 16 to protect the adhesive surface opposite to the balancingweights. The chain of balancing weights may be bent at least at oneaxis. In this Figure, the axis is perpendicular to the drawing plane.The bending direction 17 is shown by the corresponding arrows. Bendingin a second axis under a right angle may allow to make curves of thebelt. This would be into or from the drawing plane.

In FIG. 1 b, a top view of the balancing weights is shown. Here, alsothe second bending axis is perpendicular to the drawing plane, resultingin a bending direction 18 as shown.

In FIGS. 1c and 1 d, a further embodiment of balancing weights is shown.Here, the balancing weights 10 are connected by bridges 13. Preferably,the bridges 13 are made of the same material as the balancing weights.In a further preferred embodiment, the bridges may comprise a differentmaterial providing comparatively high flexibility. For example, thebalancing weights may be coated with plastic epoxy or resin, and thebridges may also be made of this material. As explained with relation tothe Figures before, it is preferred, if this embodiment of balancingweights is also bendable in one, and most preferably in two axes.

In FIG. 2, a transport wheel for transporting balancing weights isshown. The transport wheel 20 has at least one transport cam 21, whichfits into the gaps between adjacent balancing weights 10. Preferably,the transport cams 21 have a shape that closely fits into the gapbetween adjacent balancing weights, and furthermore allows a rotatingmovement outwards of this gap. Furthermore, a cam sensor may be providedin the close proximity of transport wheel 20 for detecting the presenceand/or the passage of a cam, and therefore allowing to count the numberof balancing weights which has been transported by the transport wheel.Although this embodiment is shown with a first embodiment of thebalancing weights, it may be used with other embodiments of balancingweights, like balancing weights having bridges.

In FIG. 3, a transport belt for transporting balancing weights isdisclosed. A transport belt 30 has a plurality of transport cams 33,which interact with the gaps between adjacent balancing weights. Thedrive belt may be driven by at least one pulley 31, 32, which may bedriven by a motor. Due to the interaction in a plurality of gaps betweenbalancing weights, the mechanical tolerances are equalized, and aprecision transport of balancing weights may be achieved. The transportbelt may be combined with a support or a slide rail on the opposite sideof the balancing weights, as shown later. It is preferred to combinethis transport belt with a second support belt 40 which supports theopposing side of the balancing weights which may be a tape. The supportbelt 40 may be driven by support pulleys 41, 42, which preferably areoperated synchronously to drive conveyer pulleys 31, 32. The supportbelt 40 may also be used without the transport belt 40. Although thisembodiment is shown with a first embodiment of the balancing weights, itmay be used with other embodiments of balancing weights, like balancingweights having bridges.

In FIG. 4, a dual wheel drive for balancing weights is shown. Two wheels60, 61 are arranged at opposing sides of balancing weights. The sidesmay be the top and bottom or right and left sides. Preferably, thetransport wheels are connected to means providing a force 62, 63 towardsthe balancing weights. Most preferably, they are spring-loaded. Thebalancing weights may further be supported by a support rail 65, whichmay be a linear plate or one of the rails, as disclosed hereafter. Thetransport wheels may be friction-type wheels having a surface generatingsufficient friction when being in contact with the balancing weights.The transport wheels may also have cams, as previously disclosed, toimprove friction and precision.

FIG. 5 shows a further dual wheel drive of balancing weights with adifferent type of balancing weights.

In FIG. 6, a further embodiment of a dual wheel drive is shown. Here,first and second transport wheels 70, 71 are in contact with the broadsides (e. g. top and bottom side) of the balancing weights. Furthermore,the balancing weight is guided in a slide rail 75.

In FIG. 7, a vertical slide rail 75 is shown, transporting the balancingweights in a vertical position.

In FIG. 8, a horizontal slide rail 76 is shown, transporting balancingweights in a horizontal position. Generally, there may be at least onesection of a slide rail and a section of any of the drive means likerollers, belts or support belts as disclosed herein. There may also be aconsecutive sequence of sections of slide rails and section of any ofthe drive means.

All the slide rails disclosed herein are preferably have a low-frictionsurface, which may for example be coated with a PTFE.

In FIG. 9, a magnetic suspension 80 of balancing weights is shown. Forsuch as suspension to work, it is essential that the chain of balancingweights comprises magnetic materials, preferably soft-magneticmaterials. Preferably, the balancing weights comprise iron or similarmaterials. Alternatively the tape 15 may comprise magnetic material. Themagnetic suspension 80 comprises at least a magnet 85 which may be apermanent magnet or an electrical coil, or a combination thereof.Furthermore, it is preferred to have yokes 82, 83 for guiding themagnetic flux. To prevent sticking of the balancing weights to the yokesand to control the magnetic field, it is preferred to have a spacer 81between the yoke and the balancing weights. This spacer preferably is ofa non-magnetic material, like plastic. Most preferably, the spacer 81has a surface towards the balancing weights with low-frictioncharacteristics. It may be coated with a material like PTFE. In analternate embodiment, the spacer may be made of a material withlow-friction, like PTFE.

FIG. 10 shows an assembly with two wheels for equalizing flow ofbalancing weights. First, transport wheel 91 drives the chain ofbalancing weights 90 towards a second positioning wheel 92, whichpreferably has a plurality of cams to interact with gaps between thebalancing weights. Precision positioning and transport is made by thepositioning wheel. The speed of the transport wheel and the positioningwheel may be different, resulting in an excess length 95 of the chain ofbalancing weights. It is preferred that a support 94 is provided afterthe positioning wheel 92 to provide for a precise guiding of thebalancing weights.

In FIG. 11, a precision balancing weight delivery system is shown.Balancing weights 10 are transported in direction 119 by means of atransport wheel 100, which preferably has a plurality of cams 101. Inthis embodiment a slightly modified transport wheel is shown, althoughany of the transport wheels and/or transport belts as disclosed hereinmay be used. Basically the transport wheel has a surface generatingfriction with the balancing weights 10. Due to the cams 101,synchronizing with gaps between the balancing weights, a precisiontransport can be achieved. Furthermore it is preferred, if a cutter 110is provided for cutting pieces of the balancing weights as transportedby the transport wheel. The cutter 110 may be controlled and driven bycutter drive 111, which controls movement of the cutter in direction 112through the balancing weights. A control unit 114 may be provided tocontrol the cutter drive, and therefore to control cutting operation.Preferably, the control unit receives a signal from a sensor 113, givingthe position and/or movement, or any other related parameter oftransport wheel 100, thus indicating the length or mass or number oftransported balancing weights. In addition or as an alternative, asensor 116 for sensing the number of balancing weights, or for measuringthe balancing weight length, may be provided. In a preferred embodiment,the sensor 116 detects gaps between balancing weights. The control unit114 preferably receives an input signal 115 of requested weight from anexternal unit, like a wheel balancing machine. It calculates thenecessary length and/or number of balancing weights, and controlstransport wheel 100 to transport the necessary amount of balancingweight into direction 119 towards the cutter. Then, the cutter drive 111is controlled to drive the cutter 110 to cut off the required amount ofbalancing weight. It is preferred, if a support 102 is provided foruncut balancing weights 105, and a support 103, which may be the sameparts, is provided to cut off balancing weights 106.

FIG. 12 shows a reel with a belt 51 of balancing weights. Due to theflexibility of the balancing weights as shown in FIG. 1, these also maybe bent in a second axis, and therefore they can be wound up on a reel50, as shown in FIG. 12.

It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure that this invention is believed to provide balancingweights for vehicle wheels, apparatus and methods for transporting andpositioning of balancing weights. Further modifications and alternativeembodiments of various aspects of the invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art in view of this description. Accordingly, thisdescription is to be construed as illustrative only and is for thepurpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner ofcarrying out the invention. It is to be understood that the forms of theinvention shown and described herein are to be taken as the presentlypreferred embodiments. Elements and materials may be substituted forthose illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may bereversed, and certain features of the invention may be utilizedindependently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art afterhaving the benefit of this description of the invention. Changes may bemade in the elements described herein without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention as described in the following claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

balancing weight11, 12 sides13 bridge15 tape16 liner17, 18 bending direction20 transport wheel21 transport cam30 transport belt31, 32 transport pulley33 transport cam40 belt support41, 42 support pulley50 reel51 balancing weights on tape60, 61 transport wheel62, 63 direction of force65 support rail70, 71 transport wheel75 vertical slide rail76 horizontal slide rail80 magnetic suspension81 spacer82, 83 yoke85 magnet90 chain of balancing weights91 transport wheel92 positioning wheel93 cam94 support95 length compensation96 transport direction100 transport wheel101 transport cam102, 103 support105 balancing weights110 cutter111 cutter drive112 cutter movement113 sensor114 control unit115 weight request input116 balancing weight sensor119 transport direction

1. System for transporting and positioning pre-formed balancing weightsthat are connected together to form a chain of pre-formed balancingweights, the system comprising: a plurality of pre-formed balancingweights that are connected together to form a chain of pre-formedbalancing weights in which each of the weights is separated from anadjacent one of the weights by a gap; and at least one drive meanscomprising a transport wheel or belt, the transport wheel or belt havinga plurality of cams configured to interface with the gaps between thepre-formed balancing weights, without forming or deforming thepre-formed balancing weights; where a distance between two adjacent onesof the cams corresponds to a distance between two of the gaps such thatthe two adjacent ones of the cams will each fit into one of the two gapswhen the at least one drive means interacts with the pre-formedbalancing weights.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the pre-formedbalancing weights are connected by an adhesive tape.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising a cutter disposed such that the at least onedrive means is configured to transport the pre-formed balancing weightstoward the cutter, the cutter configured to cut pre-formed balancingweights or parts thereof from the chain of pre-formed balancing weights.4. The system of claim 1, where an external surface of the transportwheel or belt is flexible.
 5. The system of claim 4, where the externalsurface of the transport wheel or belt is softer than the plurality ofbalancing weights.
 6. The system of claim 1, where the at least onedrive means is configured to move the chain of balancing weights in atransport direction without generating pressure on upper surfaces of theplurality of balancing weights.
 7. System for transporting pre-formedbalancing weights that are connected together to form a chain ofpre-formed balancing weights, the system comprising: a plurality ofpre-formed balancing weights that are connected together to form a chainof pre-formed balancing weights in which each of the weights isseparated from an adjacent one of the weights by a gap; and at least onedrive means comprising a transport belt configured to directly interactwith the chain of pre-formed balancing weights to transport the chain ofpre-formed balancing weights, the transport belt having a plurality ofcams configured to interface with the gaps between the pre-formedbalancing weights; where a distance between two adjacent ones of thecams corresponds to a distance between two of the gaps such that the twoadjacent ones of the cams will each fit into one of the two gaps whenthe at least one drive means interacts with the pre-formed balancingweights.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one drive meansis preceded or followed by at least one slide rail.
 9. The system ofclaim 8, comprising a sequence of slide rails and drive means.
 10. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the pre-formed balancing weights areconnected by an adhesive tape.
 11. The system of claim 7, furthercomprising a cutter disposed such that the at least one drive means isconfigured to transport the pre-formed balancing weights toward thecutter, the cutter configured to cut pre-formed balancing weights orparts thereof from the chain of pre-formed balancing weights.
 12. Thesystem of claim 7, where an external surface of the transport belt isflexible.
 13. The system of claim 12, where the external surface of thetransport belt is softer than the plurality of balancing weights. 14.The system of claim 6, where the at least one drive means is configuredto move the chain of balancing weights in a transport direction withoutgenerating pressure on upper surfaces of the plurality of balancingweights.
 15. Method for transporting and positioning pre-formedbalancing weights that are connected together to form a chain ofpre-formed balancing weights in which each of the weights is separatedfrom an adjacent one of the weights by a gap, the method comprising thesteps of: driving the chain of balancing weights by a transport wheel ortransport belt having a plurality of cams configured to interface withthe gaps between adjacent ones of the pre-formed balancing weights; andinterfacing by at least one cam of the transport wheel or transport beltwith a gap between two adjacent ones of the pre-formed balancing weightsto synchronize movement between the transport wheel or transport beltand the chain of pre-formed balancing weights, without forming ordeforming the pre-formed balancing weights; where a distance between twoadjacent ones of the cams corresponds to a distance between two of thegaps such that the two adjacent ones of the cams each fit into one ofthe two gaps as the chain of balancing weights is driven.
 16. The methodof claim 15, wherein the pre-formed balancing weights are connected byan adhesive tape.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:transporting with the transport wheel or transport belt the pre-formedbalancing weights toward a cutter that is configured to cut pre-formedbalancing weights or parts thereof from the chain of pre-formedbalancing weights; and cutting the chain of pre-formed balancing weightswith the cutter.
 18. The method of claim 15, where an external surfaceof the transport wheel or belt is flexible.
 19. The method of claim 18,where the external surface of the transport wheel or belt is softer thanthe plurality of balancing weights.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherethe at least one drive means is configured to move the chain ofbalancing weights in a transport direction without generating pressureon upper surfaces of the plurality of balancing weights.